Amsterdamaged

So after one night in Amsterdam, I have to say I'm relaxed. Even though we've approached the whirlwind portion of this trip, there's something making me feel all chilled out and comfortable. I'm not sure what it is. Perhaps it's the gezellig nature of the cafes here, or maybe it's the rich, foamy cappucino they serve at the, umm, coffeeshops. It has to be something I've ingested anyway... That and sleeping on the most comfortable bed ever, maaaan.

Or maybe it's food coma from having my first full-sized dinner in ages. We jumped from tapas for tiny people to big portions for big people simply by taking a two hour flight north.

It seems Argentinian steakhouses are the big deal here. It's like half of the restaurant row around the Leidseplein is a Buenos Aires meat clearinghouse. I don't know how authentic they are, nor do I purport to know anything about Argentinian food, but I do know they're a good value. The competition is stiff, so just about every one of them will throw you all-you-can-eat ribs or some sort of insane mixed grill combo for a reasonable price. I think I ODed on meat. As much jamón as I ate in Spain, that was nothing. I think I had more meat in me in one sitting than Jenna Jameson.

We practically rolled out to catch a tram to the Old Centre and promptly located the Ben coffeeshop. A chilled out, mellow place, and a far cry from commercial Disneyland-of-Weed megashops like the Bulldog and the Grasshopper, it was a good place to relax, drink some cappucinos and fresh fruit drinks, and feel a bit irie to some reggae. Almost two grams later (minus what I rolled into my own spliff for later use) we found the motivation to get up and explore the Red Light District.

The RLD is about the same as I remember it. That is, mildly interesting, until the novelty wears off. Still, I'm always impressed by the number of girls I wouldn't throw out of het bed voor het eten van brood. In fact, it's not a moral dilema for me at all. Just an issue of whether I want to throw out €50.

(By now, all my conservative friends have deleted my email and phone number, I'm sure...)

Back at the hotel, we finished off some of our earlier purchase and slept in the most comfortable beds ever. I've never been happier in a twin bed than I was last night...